Ketsubetsu
by Juri.DP
Summary: Silence. Hesitance. Acceptance.


**Sorry if I haven't been able to reply!**

 **Here's a little InuHime magic I've been working on when I should be doing homework. I also almost made myself have a new ship to fuss over.**

 **Enjoy!**

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He thought it was odd, just a bit.

Perhaps it was odd in a spiteful way, but sometimes the glory of teenage years reminded him that the world did not revolve around him. He knew very well the world, let alone anything else, neither catered to him nor conformed to his mood, but it was just...

It was very nice out.

Inuyasha was seated against his bed, head fallen on the mattress, staring at the ceiling. The curtains to his window were open, allowing nice bright rays from the sun to fill his room. He had caught a glimpse of the outside world earlier, and the sky was a magnificent light blue with the grass and trees healthy with vibrant greens. The houses in his neighborhood did not have a lot of colorful plants lining the streets, but in backyards, there was a landscape of carnival colors.

Birds occasionally chirped, and the roaring off cars and other modes of transportation had settled down quite a bit, which was usual around this time.

And he was irritated.

A police officer he encountered the previous night conjured up memories of school, and Inuyasha woke up in dower moods only to have his brother make a comment about his hair. Sesshomaru's exact words were a declarative "New look," but the prolonged stare and slight slumping of the shoulders said different.

 _Copying me, hm?_

Inuyasha scowled, looking to the side.

Like hell he was trying to copy Sesshomaru! Inuyasha actually had their father in mind, but none of this was for sentimental reasons.

Inuyasha dropped out of school two weeks ago because he was very tired of that place trying to dictate every single thing he did from how and when he was supposed to learn to how he was supposed to _look_. They wanted him to do something with his hair—preferably cut it—but he came from a family with long hair, so he _refused_ to do _anything_ that place wanted him to do.

The thought to dye it silver came to him on one of his nights out with the other bands of misfits around town; his night crew had suggested a change of color many times. They said the dark-haired look was overdone—that any wannabe tough guy had used it way passed its limits. A more menacing hairstyle was in order, and they knew just the place to get quality hair-dos for dirt-cheap prices.

Inuyasha only agreed because the conversation always came up at some point or other when he was out with them, so he relented just to sate whatever fantasy they had about him if it would get them to shut the hell up.

The process had been excruciatingly long simply because he had so much hair to bleach and color, but the end result had been a little spectacular. The jagged ends of his hair had been trimmed to uniform lengths, and the silver color was better on him than he ever would have thought. He looked like a completely different person—mysteriously sophisticated yet alluringly menacing—and he wondered if his father had ever felt powerful simply by looking at his own reflection.

But, now that he thought about it, he kind of looked like Sesshomaru's mother, so maybe he had to rethink his brother's expression.

Either way, the awe of his altered appearance had not lasted long. Slow as it was, his hair was already growing to its uneven lengths again, and the shine of his hair was fading because he was not taking care of it properly. He doubted he would get around to trimming it or continue dying it, let alone paying someone else to do it.

But that was far from the point right now.

The point was Sesshomaru (and that pissant cop) had ruined his day, and he was pissed the weather had the _nerve_ to look so amazing.

Sesshomaru rarely stopped by ever since he moved out, so it must have been bad timing that he actually decided to check in two weeks after Inuyasha dyed his hair. More than that, Inuyasha was supposed to be in school. Sesshomaru had made no comment on why Inuyasha was home, but he gave Inuyasha a knowing look right before he left, and Inuyasha had a _very nagging_ suspicion that Sesshomaru was going to tell their father.

Inuyasha's parents had yet to discover he was a dropout.

His father was away at work in the inner city, and it was easier to stay there than to commute back and forth, but he would be back in a few more weeks, if not another month. His mother left to visit a sick relative in the country, and her periodic calls to check on him and ask about school could be easily settled with few words and vague grunts.

It was hardly a challenge.

As for the school, he erased any messages on the home answering machine and ripped up all the letters his teachers left on his doorstep. It was surprisingly simple to do all of this since the school did not seem to have his mother's or father's numbers. But now Sesshomaru knew his secret and would make Inuyasha's achievements all for naught. So, he was waiting for a phone call or surprise appearance from his parents, and he was seething.

He was also bored.

Before today, his two weeks had been great, but it had slowly been losing its appeal.

Missing school was never an issue, and his new night life was liberating, but he was itching to be freer than he was now. Going out during the day was risky because his neighbors might see him, and he could only walk around freely when the late afternoon or early evening beckoned him—even then he had to avoid school officials.

He wanted to wander without restraints.

Maybe he wanted to meet new people, too, but he did not want to leave behind the people he already knew. Maybe he wanted to travel with them. Maybe he wanted them to be okay with him traveling wherever. He was still trying to figure himself out, but he definitely felt trapped. Something was keeping him here.

Well... Someone.

There was a knock on the front door.

Inuyasha stared out his bedroom door, tilting his head as he listened to the knocking just a staircase travel away. It came and went for a little over a minute before the silence was consistent. He crawled to his window and peeked out of it, scanning the streets. He saw a man in a suit walking away, and he knew it was one of his teachers again.

He squinted his eyes.

It has only been a few days, but his teachers were starting to come to his house later and later. If that kept up, they would know for sure that something was askew.

He huffed, slouching against the wall.

He could always handle the situation when or if it presented itself. For now, Inuyasha got up to go see what was left for him.

When he got to his front door, he looked through the peephole, scanning as best he could. He then opened the door just enough to see through it. After seeing no one, he stepped outside and took the letter out of the metal box on his house. He eyed the letter before giving one last scrutinizing inspection to the surrounding area and turning back inside.

Slumping against the door, he looked at the letter addressed to his parents and ripped it up. He no longer read them because the ones he did read were the standard "please talk your child into coming back to school" and "we will send someone to come speak to him" jargon. It was a wonder they kept trying to make contact after the first try because _obviously_ the letter was received, and _obviously_ no reply meant _'Fuck Off.'_

Inuyasha balled the papers in his hand and proceeded to the kitchen.

No sooner had he entered, knocking came from the front door again, freezing him in place. He could think of no reason why someone would come knocking on his door. Sesshomaru had a key, the mailman never knocked, and a teacher had already come.

Was he spotted?

Did a neighbor see him and decide to come over and ask why he was home so early?

No, school had already let out, and if he _had_ gone, he _would_ have been home by now.

Did his teacher somehow see or hear him come out the door?

If that was the case, pretending he somehow left shortly after was far-fetched.

He sure as hell could not open the door, but the person on the other side definitely knew _someone_ was there. If they caught a glimpse of his hair, then he was probably mistaken for his father or Sesshomaru, in which case he was probably _very_ screwed.

Inuyasha stood as he was, and the knocking came one more time. A few seconds of silence passed before he silently went to the door and looked through the peephole. Long dark hair and a female uniform were the first things he noticed about the retreating figure. He stared for a few short, conflicted seconds before opening the door hesitantly.

She stopped halfway down the path, seemingly debating on whether or not to turn around.

Inuyasha scratched his head, feeling a bit guilty. "Hey."

Silence. Hesitance. Acceptance.

"Hi," she said, clearing her throat. "I... My key is at school..."

"You left school without it?"

"Inuyasha, I... I hate it there." She turned to him, face red and bright with tears. Her hair stuck to her face, curling across her cheeks and forehead; her clothes clung to her, the wetness of her shirt making her bra visible and her skirt looked heavy. "I really hate it."

He huffed, not knowing what his exact emotions were. He was angry, but he was full of regret. He was sad, but he was mildly confused. He was undoubtedly pissed, but he was not surprised.

He stepped aside and gestured for her. "C'mon, Orihime."

o0o0o

Orihime Inoue.

Fifteen years old.

When she was just an infant, her fifteen year old brother, Sora Inoue, had run away with her to escape their abusive parents. They spent weeks traveling as he tried to find a place for them to live while also trying to keep them both alive. The only reason he traveled practically across the country from his town of Karakura was because their parents had found them when he had rented an apartment in his town. After that, Sora Inoue was determined to get as far away as he could, and that is when they stumbled upon Inuyasha's neighborhood.

Meaning Sora traveled aimlessly before he realized how far he had actually gotten: Tokyo.

Inuyasha was also just a baby when the Inoues arrived, but Sesshomaru was twelve years old and took an interest in Sora once he found out there was another boy around his age in the neighborhood. Usually, Sesshomaru did not like to meet new people, but he heard a fifteen year old would actually _own_ a house, and it had mattered little that said house was the last place any sane person would choose to live. It only mattered that it was three houses down across the street.

Inuyasha speculated many times why someone would sell such a decrepit house to a teenager with an infant, but he never openly asked.

The house was built way before any major buildings were formed, and the original owners had fought to keep their property just as they liked it even after the modern age began to emerge.

The place was vacant and about to be torn down when Sora came along. It was made of wood and rotted all over. The small lawn surrounding it was overgrown with grass, bushes, weeds, and flowers, and there were many ancient artifacts littered both outside and inside. Any heat and hot water was powered by a wood burning furnace, and the only place powered by electricity was the front porch. The owners, in their later years, liked to sit outside on summer evenings and would remain there late into the night.

When Sesshomaru first told their father about the new boy, his father and Inuyasha's mother tried to talk Sora into living with them. Sora was soft-spoken, but he was very stubborn and independent. He was determined to make a better life for him and Orihime, and the house was an excellent representation of how he would turn their lives around. Sesshomaru and their father helped clean up and repair what they could, and Inuyasha's mother often invited Sora and Orihime over to teach the brunette the many ways there were to take care of a baby.

Sesshomaru and Sora spent a lot of time together despite Sesshomaru not liking the crying and highly dependent atrocity that was Sora's little sister, but Sesshomaru admired how Sora dealt with his entire situation and would rather put up with Orihime's cries than the ones in his own home.

Sesshomaru was going through a bit of a rebellious streak (that he never really grew out of) because he was forced to share a home with his father's new wife. What's worse, she had given birth to an abomination he had to call his "brother."

Inuyasha was almost a year old when Sesshomaru took him to the Inoue house for the first time. By this point, Inuyasha could walk on his own (no matter how unsteadily), and as he grew older, Inuyasha strongly believed Sesshomaru waited until Inuyasha could move around on his own so he would not have to be carried. The main reason Sesshomaru brought Inuyasha along, though, was because Sora was as doting and attentive to his litter sister no matter who was around, so Sesshomaru hoped having a playmate for her would distract her enough that Sora could be free to have conversations.

In other words, Sesshomaru demanded full attention.

From then on, Orihime became an important part in Inuyasha's life and vis versa. He taught her how to walk (completely by accident). She was there the first time he broke his leg. He was the first house she slept over due to one of many times the Inoue residence was renovated. They walked to and from school. They had grown up together; they were close friends without ever really realizing.

Then the bullying started.

Boys and girls alike picked on Orihime because of her bright hair color, and Inuyasha had always beaten up the boys every time he was made aware of it. Eventually the boys left her alone, and some admitted they only did it because they had crushes on her, but the girls were different. He could yell and threaten them until his throat went raw, but his parents had made it very clear that he could never hit a girl. It frustrated him because the girls' bullying was getting worse and worse.

He tried to teach Orihime how to fight, but she refused to use anything he taught her against them; she was afraid it would make Sora upset—not to mention Sora had no clue what was going on at school.

It was worse because Orihime and Inuyasha were never in the same classes throughout middle school, and sometimes it drove him mad thinking about what could be happening to her when they were separated. So he reluctantly endured the bruises and messed up clothes all while being assured that she was alright.

The worst came when they cut her hair.

It was their second year of middle school, and he waited after school for her, but the groups of people leaving never had her in it. He then spent over an hour searching the entire school for her, but he never found her. It was not until he began to leave that he saw her waiting near the school entrance. She was trembling, crying, and some of her hair had been cut to a noticeably uneven degree. She was afraid she would not be able to play this off when Sora saw her, so she begged Inuyasha to help her cut the rest to match.

He did, but she had cried for hours after the fact.

Inuyasha shook his head, forcing out the memory.

It was all in the past. Orihime now wore dark wigs, and the bullying died down considerably since they entered high school. They were now second-year students and had been in the same classes, but they both faced new challenges.

For Orihime, puberty made it hard to go undetected. Heck, he noticed how her body was changing, so he knew other people did—especially most boys. Orihime was oblivious to any and everyone who had a crush on her, but usually no one was bold enough to try anything offensive.

The ones who did were dealt with.

But she still had the occasional group of girls who mistreated her, and now perverts on trains had become an issue.

As for Inuyasha himself, he had become something of a rule breaker. He always had been, but he was in more fights than ever before. Sometimes they were because of Orihime, but most times people just liked to pick fights with him.

Aside from his hair and his problem with yielding to authority, he did not wear his school uniform right, and the teachers were always nagging him or giving him detention. He was annoyed because he was _at least_ getting his schoolwork done, and most of the time he _tried_ to walk away from fights, but _those_ efforts apparently meant nothing.

Hence why he dropped out and wanted to break away from the limitations on him.

But...

He looked out his door when he heard feet approaching. Orihime walked in wearing one of his shirts and some shorts she left at his house months ago. She was no longer wearing the wig, and her bright hair was pulled into a high bun. Her mood had not elevated after taking a shower. She walked over to the bed to sit next to him, carrying a plastic bag with her clothes and wig inside it. She looked at him, eyes puffy and red, and gave him a small smile before staring at the floor.

"I almost thought you were Sesshomaru when I saw you."

He snorted indignantly. "He wishes."

"It's nice," she said, pushing hair behind her ear. "Looks good."

Inuyasha stared at her, evaluating her mood. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

"No... Not really."

He hesitated. "Will you anyway?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "It's...nothing. It's the same..." She shook her head again. "You suddenly stopped coming to school, and I hadn't had time to stop by and...then all of this..." She sighed before looking at him. "A lot has been on my mind, and I wasn't able to deal with it today like I usually can."

"But what was on you? Didn't smell like water."

"Vodka. Maybe a little vinegar." She shrugged, smiling a bit. "Someone rigged it on top of the classroom door. Kagome and everyone were there when it happened, and they were demanding to know who did it." She laughed. "Maybe I didn't cry then because I saw how upset they were, but seeing everyone avoid me and giving me looks on the train really got to me. At least no one tried to touch me."

Inuyasha frowned, looking away. "Sorry I wasn't there."

She shook her head. "It would have happened if you were there or not. I think I've grown to rely on you too much..." She bit her lip, looking at him cautiously. "Are you not coming back?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need some time to think."

"About what?"

"About...my options."

"But you don't want to come back, right?"

"Tck, do you? That place sucks."

She laughed. "Yeah. It really does."

Inuyasha laughed with her, and a calm silence settled. Orihime looked at him, looked away, and set her bag on the floor.

"If you want to come back, that's good, but don't do it if you think you have to be there for me."

He frowned at her. "What's that supposed ta mean?"

"You keep stepping in for me because I won't fight, but I'm fine. I... For some reason I've never fit in, but it's not always bad. I did manage to make friends."

"People'll leave you alone if ya just knock someone out one good time."

She laughed heartily. "Inuyasha, it's not really my thing, and it shouldn't be yours either."

He huffed. "I grew up stickin' up for ya, so it'd take some time for me ta just stop. Probably wouldn't fully stop, anyway."

Orihime fell quiet. For a while they sat in more silence, and Inuyasha knew she was trying to tell him something. He eyed her discreetly for a long while until she sighed heavily.

"Sora... Well, the job Sesshomaru got him has been pretty amazing. It pays well, and this is the first time in a long time that the two of us have been able to live comfortably..." She shrugged. "Financially, speaking. Sora really doesn't want to lose this..." She paused to take in a shaky breath. "He was offered a promotion in Karakura."

Inuyasha blanched, shoulders drooping, brows furrowing. "You're moving?"

"We've been thinking about it."

" _We?_ _You_ wanna move?"

She stared at him earnestly. "I want Sora to be happy, and I want you to be happy, too. It also would be...pretty nice to have a fresh start. Maybe there's a reason I don't fit in here."

"Orihime, there's people everywhere who feel like they don't fit in. You think I do?"

"Inuyasha, you get into fights. A good majority of them is because you choose to fight even after you've walked away. You've always been able to make friends, but you're always choosing to be held back by me."

"We _grew up_ together. Yer my _friend._ "

"I know, but... I'm really not happy here... That doesn't mean you're not important to me. You're _very_ important to me, but I don't think I'm supposed to feel like this on a daily basis." She struggled for words, afraid he might not understand. "At home, I have you and Sora. At school, I have you, Kagome, and Ayumi."

"And Eri and Yuka."

She groaned, falling back on the bed. "Eri and Yuka think I... There's a lot you don't notice, but they don't like me, Inuyasha. They tolerate me because Kagome and Ayumi do, but this isn't enough for me. Every day I worry if school is going to be a battle, and I'm just...tired. I'm very tired of all of this."

Thoughts kept racing through Inuyasha's mind. He did not understand how a two week break in seeing her had resulted in her possibly moving away. As far as he was concerned, she had already made the decision to move and was trying to make him okay with the idea.

But he was _not_ okay.

 _How could he be okay?!_

She was talking about moving damn near across the country, so there was a good chance they would never see each other again! Sure, they could text, email, and video chat, but that was nothing compared to seeing her in person whenever he wanted.

He could just walk down the street if he was pissed or needed to get away from home, but that was impossible if she was _gone_.

He could sneak out at night to see her when a particularly bad thought decided to keep him awake, but how could he do that if she was _gone_?

He spent summer and rainy days out on her front step, but that was over if she was all the way in... All the way in...

"Karakura?" Inuyasha looked back at her. "Isn't that where you guys came from?"

She smiled humorlessly. "Yes."

"Sora's really okay with tryin' ta live there again?"

"He's given this a lot of thought, Inuyasha. He almost didn't tell me about this promotion because he was going to decline it on the spot. Obviously he doesn't want to chance running into our parents, but it _has_ been fifteen years. I still don't know what they're like, but they probably don't even live there anymore. Maybe they aren't even alive. Even if they are, they wouldn't know who I am and probably wouldn't recognize Sora."

"Yeah, but..." His eyes were warring with emotions. "Have you even considered we won't see each other again if you move?"

"No." She smiled at him, highly amused. "I honestly believe it's impossible that we'd _never_ see each other again. We could visit on breaks. Maybe I'd come back to Tokyo to go to college, or you'd possibly look at one in Karakura. Even if we don't do any of that, we'd see each other again. I'm sure of it."

He bit his inner lip, trying to see it her way. "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

Inuyasha stared at her a moment longer. Ultimately, he groaned, flopping back on the bed next to her, and stared at the ceiling.

He knew her choice was already made, but he was still trying to think of anything to change her mind. If he talked to Sesshomaru, maybe he could talk him into finding a position for Sora that was at least much, much closer. Sesshomaru, of all people, would try to keep Sora from moving away, but if even he had no influence in this decision...

If the Inoues really were moving...

He huffed, turning his head in her direction. She met his gaze, grey eyes allowing his golden ones to express and search through hers.

She was sorry that she had sprung all of this on him after weeks of not seeing each other, but she and Sora were actually hoping to move right away. The idea had appealed to her when she first heard it—a fresh start, new faces, better opportunities—and she had no objections to it except for how Inuyasha would react. She knew she had to get away from this part of town no matter how he reacted, but she desperately hoped to leave on good terms.

It was weird to think about a life without Inuyasha being just walking distance from her, but it would be unbearable if he refused to be a phone call away.

They were friends, after all.

They grew up together.

"Karakura, huh?"

Orihime waited, her breath nearly held.

"Karakura..." Inuyasha frowned at the ceiling, thinking hard. "It's gonna cost a lot seein' you all the time, isn't it?"

Orihime sighed silently, a part of her relieved. "It might be. Gives us a good excuse to finally get those train passes, at least."

"Any idea what Karakura is like?"

She shook her head. "None. The only time I really heard about it was when that spirit medium Don Kanonji made that big fuss a while back."

"Tck! Spirit medium... So at least yer gonna be around a bunch of weird people."

She laughed, rolling into him. "You can't judge the whole town by just him."

"They let him stay there, so they must be just as weird."

She sat up, smiling brightly. "Guess I'll fit right in."

"Yeah?" He cocked a brow. "How d'you figure?"

" _I'm_ weird!"

"You're different. That doesn't make you weird."

She released her hair from her bun and shook out her fiery locks. "My hair is weird."

"You were born that way. Yer not like all the other people swarmin' Tokyo who _choose_ ta dye their hair those weird colors. Besides, your color ain't even that bad."

"Yeah. I guess I could have dyed it silver."

"Exactly, only someone weird would _choose_ ta-" He squinted his eyes at her, smirking. "Watch it, fireball."

She laughed, bouncing in place. "I'm kind of excited thinking about you visiting me. I could show you everything and maybe even introduce you to new people."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't try to replace me."

"I would never! Don't _you_ try to forget about _me!_ "

"Like I could. Kinda hard to forget about you after all the time we've spent together."

She smiled wider, grey eyes gleaming down at him. "So you promise to miss me?"

He looked at her a moment, his eyes lingering a bit. "Yeah... I promise."

Orihime stared longer, her smile waning. She rubbed her eyes as they began to sting. "Me, too..." Her shoulders shook, emotions hitting her hard. "I promise, too."

Inuyasha exhaled slowly, his own eyes feeling as though they were constricting.

Moving, huh...

* * *

 **Three Months Later**

* * *

Inuyasha sat on a bench, watching all the people walking by.

The wind was frigid, and he regretted not wearing any gloves. He huddled closer into himself and steeled against another light but prolonged breeze of the winter air.

It seemed like such a poor time to travel, especially for people who were trying to relocate. The Inoues had always been an eccentric pair—an unconventional pair—but he thought they would have a little more sense than to move during the cold seasons. He also expected them to drive to their new town, but they rationalized they could take everything they needed in what could be packed; everything else had already been sold. It was hard to understand why, since it would just add to the assortment of new things they would need to buy, but he guessed this all tied in to their 'new start'.

He reminded himself over and over about how much he did not mind, but it almost felt like they were trying to forget their old life completely.

But that was just him feeling bummed again.

Bummed and irritably cold.

He scanned the station again, his legs restless. He had been here for nearly thirty minutes waiting to see the Inoues off, but they were nowhere in sight. He pulled out his phone, checking the time.

They had ten minutes before the train left.

"C'mon," he muttered, staring at the digital numbers. "Where the heck are you guys?"

Maybe they would miss the train. Maybe they decided not to go through with it after all. Maybe-

"Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's head whipped to the right, but he was stumped by the man standing at his side, seemingly glaring at him. He deflated. "What are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru ignored him, his own eyes scanning the train station. "Where are they?"

"Not here yet." Inuyasha stood. "You came all this way to see them off? Don't you have work?"

"Don't you have school?"

Inuyasha backed down, looking around once more. "Maybe we missed them."

"Impossible."

"They don't have all the time in the world. If they ain't here now, then they ain't-"

"Inuyasha!"

"Sesshomaru!"

The two silver-haireds looked behind them, seeing the two Inoues running their way with two suitcases each.

"Hey!" Inuyasha called, waving high over his head. "Why're you so late?!"

"Got lost," Orihime panted, her and Sora hunched over and gasping when they reached them.

"Got... G-Got so lost," Sora said. "S-So very lost."

"I programmed the location into your phone," Sesshomaru said.

"Yes..." Sora laughed awkwardly, straightening himself. "I don't know what I did, but I pressed something and deleted it all."

"And then we forgot _where_ we were supposed to go," Orihime added.

"But you're the one who gave _me_ directions," Inuyasha said.

"I forgot what I told you."

"So why didn't you call?" the silver-haireds asked.

The Inoues looked at each other before sporting apologetic smiles. "Didn't think of it."

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru twitched, watching as the two in front of them shared a hearty laughter. They were actually letting _these two_ go off and live on their own in a completely different town?

 _All by themselves?!_

The announcement was made that the trains would be leaving shortly. Sora said his heartfelt goodbyes to Inuyasha; Inuyasha managed to say what he needed through sputterings and surprised embarrassment. Sesshomaru acknowledged Orihime; she surprised him with a tight hug and emotional goodbyes.

While the older siblings said their goodbyes, Orihime dropped her bags to hug Inuyasha, earning one in return.

"I'll call you when we get there," she promised.

"I'll wait on it."

"I'll be sure to tell you everything. I'll text _every day_."

He laughed, brief yet strong. "Maybe just for the first month."

She squeezed him tighter, insistent. " _Every day!_ "

"Right! Every day! Right, right, right!"

Orihime pulled back to look at him, her eyes pained. Inuyasha stared back at her, lips parting to say something. He pulled himself together and pulled her in for one last telling hug.

"I'll see you soon," he said.

"Right." She nodded, returning the intensity. "Soon."

The Inoues boarded the train seconds before the doors closed. They waved as the train began to move, not stopping until they were out of sight.

The brothers stood in place after the train was gone, arms still raised halfway. Their hands lowered simultaneously, and they did not speak for a while, fully coming to terms with their situation.

Inuyasha huffed, pocketing his hands. "They're really gone, huh?"

Sesshomaru said nothing, his gaze still looking far away. He then turned, leaving the platform without saying another word.

Inuyasha watched him, wondering if his brother was upset with this new situation, and decided to follow him.

"I think I'm going to move."

Inuyasha almost tripped over himself. "What? _You're_ moving now?" He stopped, realization ramming into him. "Wait a minute!" He ran to catch up. "Are you going after them?!"

"Sora will need help adjusting."

"Wha-?! You're just making excuses to see hi... Uh... T-Take me with you then!"

"No."

"Whaddya mean no?!"

"I have no obligation to do what you ask of me."

"Why tell me if you didn't want me to ask?!"

Sesshomaru huffed. "The world does not revolve around you, Inuyasha. Especially not me."

" _I know that!_ " Inuyasha grumbled, barring his teeth. "If you're going after them, then you're taking me!"

"Stop dying your hair."

Inuyasha hesitated. "You'll take me if I stop?"

"No. Just stop dying your hair."

"Screw you-! Er, I didn't mean that."

Sesshomaru kept walking, not giving him any indication he was listening.

Inuyasha stamped his foot, yelling throughout the entire station, "Selfish bastard!"


End file.
